2003 Fishing Lake Simcoe
Newsletter
Editor's Corner:
We're
back! Welcome to the 2003 "catch-up" edition of the Fishing Lake
Simcoe Newsletter. Although not publishing for over a year, our
intent remains to produce a quarterly newsletter that will continue
to inform and educate the public about the wonderful fishery of Lake
Simcoe. With this special issue, we will have a look at the
previous winter conditions of 2003, followed by a brief synopsis of
what occurred in the Lake Simcoe fishery over the last year, a
special feature on whitefish by outdoor writer Drew Myers and then a
Lake Simcoe Environmental Management strategy update by Brian Kemp.
We will begin with the winter season, which remains as the period
when more anglers fish the lake than at any other time.
Winter/2003
- Conditions
After the record warm
winter of 2002, when parts of the lake never froze for more than 48
hours, many ice anglers were concerned that the winter of 2003 would
be the same. Fortunately, their fears were put to rest early, when
several anxious perch anglers were already walking on hard water a
full two or three weeks before Christmas. By the New Year, some hut
operators were already set up with huts on the shallower, nearshore
perch areas, and in mid-January many hut operators were busy
transporting huts to the main lake trout and whitefish grounds.
Without any major mid-winter thaws, the ice continued to thicken to
the point where it was close to three feet in many areas by
mid-winter. Just so that conditions wouldn't be too ideal, Mother
Nature dumped plenty of snow onto the ice - which made travel very
difficult in areas that were not plowed and maintained regularly by
commercial ice hut operators.
As
the regular winter season came to an end with the closure of the
lake trout and whitefish seasons on March 15, anglers scrambled to
try and get their huts off the ice by the same date/deadline. Tim
Boyd, Enforcement Supervisor of the Aurora District reported that "Even
with arduous heavy-snow conditions, the vast majority of hut
operators and individual hut owners diligently removed their huts in
time." Stories of anglers making four or five pain
staking attempts with snowmobiles, ATVs and four-wheel drive
vehicles were common-place before they were finally able to haul the
huts off the ice. Some folks had to resort to hiring the services
of a local commercial hut operator, who would tow huts in for a
fee. There were even reports of one enterprising local farmer who
used his tractor to haul as many as four or five huts off the ice at
a time. Tim Boyd concluded by saying,
"We were very impressed with the
efforts most ice anglers made to get their huts off in time for the
March 15th deadline. Although some years it may be
tempting to extend that deadline, we believe that from a safety
standpoint we need to maintain it. We would like to thank all those
who respected the deadline and had their huts off in time."
Ice
and More Ice:
Once most of the huts
were off, pike and walleye anglers enjoyed another 15 days of hard
water action before their season closed on March 31st. Most
winters, by the end of March all ice fishing is usually finished,
however for the '2003 winter that didn't want to let go', hard water
perch action continued. For the relatively few late-ice perch
fanatics who came from across Ontario and the southern US to
experience the rare late-ice phenomenon, the fine perch fishing,
glorious weather and good ice, made this one of the best late ice
periods in recent memory. In fact, it wasn't until April 15, that a
small number of anglers had to stop walking out due to unsafe ice
when record setting 28 Degree C. temperatures accelerated the
destruction process. The ice finally left the whole lake for good
on April 29 ... the last time it did that was in 1997.
The
winter of 2003 was not just one of the coldest in recent memory
around Lake Simcoe but across most of Ontario as well. For the first
time in years, the entire surfaces of Lake Superior, Lake Huron and
Lake Erie froze over, according to ice experts at the Canadian Ice
Service of Environment Canada. This winter rarity usually occurs
only once a decade, and only for fleeting periods, with the last two
big freezes in 1994 and 1982. ``They were all 100% covered with ice.
That's quite unusual,'' said Claude Dicaire, senior ice forecaster
for the Canadian Ice Service.
The Great Lakes region
was not alone in having massive amounts of ice. The Gulf of St.
Lawrence had 25 per cent more ice than normal, and the Atlantic
coast down to Halifax was covered with sea ice, a tribute to the
intensity of the deep winter freeze that gripped Eastern Canada this
past winter. Ice extending as far south as Halifax in the Atlantic
is considered as unusual as shoreline-to-shoreline freezing of some
of the Great Lakes.
Winter, 2003 Species by
Species Update
Lake trout:
Although there was no
doubt that several typically productive lake trout areas did not
produce well for most of the winter, there were others that yielded
outstanding catches of Lake Simcoe trout. A remarkable number of
anglers reported success was very tough to come by if they used
standard live minnow rigs, yet once they switched to artificial
baits like a Williams spoon or large jigging Rapala, their luck
changed for the better.
Whitefish:
As with lakers, whities
were tough to come by throughout vast stretches of their traditional
winter range. However, once anglers pinpointed the smaller holding
areas where the whities seemed to concentrate, there was outstanding
action. Many anglers reported seeing 'hoards' of whitefish in pods
'on-the-move' while viewing their underwater cameras. These large
roaming packs of 4-10 pound fish would readily take the same
artificial lures as their lake trout brethren.
Northern
Pike:
With the early start and
late finish to the winter season in such prime areas of pike habitat
as Cooks Bay, anglers had plenty of opportunity to capitalize on
their chances of catching some nice hardwater pike. Many of them
did, and targeted areas of remaining green aquatic plant growth
where the pike seemed to congregate. It was noted that several
anglers were taking advantage of being able to fish with two lines
during the winter and had one hole rigged for perch with small baits
and light line and the other with larger baits and heavier line for
pike.
Yellow
Perch:
Being able to walk on
water early in the winter season made several perch anglers
confident that 2003 would be a great year. In many respects it was
as the beginning of the season was very productive. However by
mid-season the action for Simcoe's most popular species slowed to a
crawl in many areas until later on in the season when it picked up
dramatically.
 Record
Perch?
Evidence that Lake Simcoe
remains as one of the premier trophy yellow perch waters in North
America was re-enforced on March 21st /03, when John
Delicata of Alcona, ON caught a 2.35 pound perch from Lake Simcoe
near Gilford. The perch nudged out the current Ontario record of
2.25 pounds, caught in Lake Erie in 1995. However, unbeknownst to
the jubilant hard-core angler, the day before John caught his
possible record perch Dave Leslie pulled in an even larger perch
from the icy waters of that other famed trophy perch fishery - Lake
Erie. This 2.42 lb perch was caught near Long Beach ON, on a minnow
through the ice. John caught his big Simcoe perch on a Lunker City
plastic finesse fish in 26 ' of water When Mr. Delicata was told the
Erie perch was caught on a live minnow, his response was "Ah ...
come on, a live minnow? At least I had to trick my perch with an
artificial one; that should count for something!"
According to Rhonda Barkley Fish and Wildlife
Technician with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters' Big
Fish Registry, the Lake Erie perch should receive official
recognition as the new Ontario record early in 2004 (as long as no
other larger perch comes in before the end of 2003.) John Delicata's
Lake Simcoe perch shown here, measured 15 inches long and had a
girth of 12 ½ inches. At 2.35 pounds, it did indeed break the old
Ontario record of 2.25 lbs and unofficially stands as a Lake Simcoe
record perch.
SPRING 2003
Yellow
perch:
A slow start due to late ice out held many perch and the anglers who
chase them on shore. Many perch anglers reported slow action for
several weeks after ice out until the water warmed up enough when
anglers began to experience their customary success.
Black
crappie:
A relatively short window of opportunity right after ice out enabled
some eager crappie anglers to take advantage of the crappies'
movements to marinas, rivers and channels. Much of the activity
took place while the main body of Lake Simcoe was still frozen.
Lake
trout:
The cool spring did not hamper the lake trout activity as several
trout anglers explained that they were still able to catch their
quarry by long line trolling without downriggers for several weeks
after the May 10th opener. Once the trout moved deep,
those same anglers who brought out their down riggers continued to
enjoy success throughout the spring period.
Whitefish:
Somewhat slower at the start of the season than their coldwater
brethren the lake trout, open-water whitefish none the less proved
once again that they are quickly becoming a favorite among more and
more Lake Simcoe anglers.
Northern
Pike:
Cool water temps
throughout the early part of the spring period kept the life-giving
aquatic plants of Lake Simcoe at bay until the latter part of the
season. For this reason, anglers had difficulty finding good
healthy new green weedgrowth and therefore difficulty in finding
these toothy critters. As the important underwater plants began to
materialize however with warmer water and longer days, so too
'miraculously' did the pike ... and so did successful pike anglers.
Walleye:
Not much has changed in
the walleye world on Lake Simcoe. There were still lots of big
walleye spawning up such traditional Simcoe rivers as the Talbot,
however once the season opened and these big fish dispersed back
into the main lake, they became difficult to target. Reports of the
odd walleye being caught around Beaverton and down in Cooks Bay did
materialize, but for the most part fishing was rather poor for them
in the spring of 2003.
Summer
2003
Yellow
Perch:
The summer months are
traditionally a time when the perch fishery gets a break from the
angling pressure it sees throughout the rest of the year. The summer
of 2003 was no exception however recreational anglers did catch
their fair share of warm-weather perch on Lake Simcoe. Not found in
the tight schools that are commonplace later in the year, anglers
still reported they found co-operative perch in most areas around
the lake.
Northern Pike:
By early summer, the pike
were co-operating nicely for the dedicated anglers who seriously
chase these strong fighting fish. Trollers reported action in the
shallows slowed to a halt by mid-summer, however those who moved
deeper and began working slower moving jigs near bottom kept on
catching pike.
Lake
Trout:
The late spring did indeed favor the trout anglers as they were
still able to enjoy remarkable success right throughout almost the
entire first half of summer.
Whitefish:
As noted in the spring
update, whitefish were late in turning on, however this benefited
those who continued to chase whitefish early in the summer. With the
aid of good sonar and GPS units, anglers could pinpoint and retain
otherwise hard-to-find off-shore locations. Most other years,
open-water whitefish action is almost over in time for bass opener,
but not in the summer of 2003. In fact, I recall the following
occurrence on the opening day of bass season.
"I was out there early for the opener but at 8am I had to take a
scheduled break to answer the cell phone and report on the start
of bass season for a live radio show - the Outdoor Journal Radio
Hour. One of the Viola brothers asked me if there were a lot of
other bass boats out there fishing too. I told him how surprised I
was that, despite there being a major bass tournament on the lake
that day, I had seen only one other boat fishing bass that morning
... But even more surprising was that I was looking at about 35
other boats way off in the deeper water who were jigging for
whitefish!"
Smallmouth
Bass:
A cool spring resulted in
a later than usual spawn for many of the lakes' famous smallmouth
bass, however anglers reported that they had expected to see far
more bass on beds than they actually did. Instead many astute
anglers focused on areas adjacent to where they believed bass would
have spawned and some even found those legendary 4-6 pound
smallmouths that Simcoe is renowned for.
Largemouth Bass:
Unlike their smallmouth
cousins, largemouths were not as affected by the latter start to the
summer and it appeared most had completed spawning in time for the
last Saturday in June opener. Anglers reported good action in
shallow weedy sections of the lake, around docks, pencil reeds and
some of the adjoining rivers like the Holland. Here anglers flipped
or pitched Texas rigged worms or jig and pig combos to undercut
cattail banks or around Lilly pads and arrowhead plants.
FALL,
2003
Northern
Pike:
As the waters began to
cool and the shallow-water weeds began to die off, the toothy
critters of Lake Simcoe began their customary movements to deeper
waters ... searching for baitfish and virtually any fish smaller
than themselves that they could try and eat. With the increase of
aquatic plant growth throughout so many sections of Lake Simcoe, it
is usually not too difficult to locate productive fall pike spots.
Anglers who looked for and found deepwater (20-40 feet) breaks
alongside shallower weedier water usually did quite well. Some
anglers noted that the shallower water weeds which were quite
healthy and prolific in the summer had died off during the fall and
that the deeper water adjacent to these spots still held some
gorgeous luscious green, living weedgrowth. This deep, clear water
can often see vibrant coontail plants thrive throughout the fall
months ... and in some cases even during the winter. Fortunately,
Simcoe is blessed with many such spots - which make it one of the
finest fall pike fisheries in South-Central Ontario.
Yellow
Perch:
Perch anglers were back
at it in full force by late September when these tasty little fish
began to form tighter schools in about 30 feet of water. As the fall
season progressed and the water cooled, these groups of perch began
their normal progression to shallower water. Good locations for
this fall's perch fishery included the areas out from the Pefferlaw
River, Virginia, Jackson's Point, Sibbald Point, Roches Point,
Gilford and Barrie. Although the majority of perch anglers still
preferred to use live shiner minnows as their favorite presentation,
an increasing number are learning that they can also experience
outstanding results with some of the new lifelike finesse plastic
minnow imitations on the market.
Black
Crappie:
Late fall reports of
crappie moving into Lake Simcoe marinas and up its rivers like the
Holland, sent many anglers off to these locations in hot pursuit.
Several enjoyed reasonable success tossing small brightly colored
tube jigs near structure.
Largemouth Bass:
The early part of the
fall period saw very good largemouth action as these fish moved from
their shallow water haunts to deeper water. Deep diving crankbaits
and jigs were especially productive along deep weedlines next to
shallow water flats or humps. As the season progressed largemouth
fishing became very hit and miss. The 'miss' was especially
prevalent when strong winds would cause water colour to become quite
dingy in places like Cooks Bay. In fact, after one major wind storm
in mid-November, a mud line from the murkier waters of Cooks Bay,
extended all the way to Lefroy.
Smallmouth Bass:
As in many renowned
smallmouth waters, the autumn period on Lake Simcoe usually offers
the finest fishing opportunities of the season. In recent years,
big smallmouth bass have become the rule instead of the
exception on Lake Simcoe however the year 2003 may go down in
history as possibly producing the biggest smallmouth bass ever. Not
only did several fall tournament weights top the magic 25 pound mark
for five smallmouth, but on Saturday October 25, the lake produced a
mind-boggling 29.59 pound bag of smallies to set a new Canadian
tournament record.
Jayson
Saliba (far left) from Windsor, Bob Formosa, Toronto and Des Barnes,
Stittsville (near Ottawa)
With the
five bass that almost weighed 30 pounds. All Bass were live
released back to Lake Simcoe.
SPECIAL FEATURE
Geriatric Whitefish
by Drew Myers
Some Lake Simcoe
whitefish might be 53 years old, making them the longest-living
specimens of their species recorded in North America. "In 1990, the
Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) looked at the age of Simcoe's
whitefish to help determine the success (or lack of) natural
reproduction in the lake and the effects of stocking on the
population," said Dr. John Casselman, senior scientist for fisheries
research. We found naturally reproduced whitefish that were 40 years
old. We repeated the study in 1999...and again in 2000, when
50-year-old whitefish were found.
"Generally, the
oldest fish live in the far north, where they grow slowly. Finding
such old fish in a southern lake is quite remarkable," he added.
"The year class of 1950 must be great for there to be still some in
Simcoe."
He notes
commercial-fishing records indicate Lake Huron also had a bumper
year class in 1950. This points to climatic conditions having a
great impact on whitefish spawning success. While many anglers
assume that the oldest fish are the largest, Casselman said many of
Simcoe's oldest whitefish weighed just a few pounds. Yet, fish as
young as 12 years weighed almost nine pounds, says Frank Amtstaetter,
formerly with the Lake Simcoe Fisheries Assessment Unit.
The lake's whitefish are aged two
ways. The first method is to remove the otolith or ear stone from
the fish's head. Each year, a fish adds a new layer, much like a
tree ring, to the otolith. By cutting a cross section of it and
counting the layers, biologists get a fairly accurate age of the
fish. The second method is called Carbon 14 "bomb dating." According
to Casselman, "During the 1950s and 1960s, the testing of dirty
bombs, like nuclear weapons, around the world increased radiation
levels in Canada. They were recorded in the otoliths of Lake Simcoe
whitefish. By finding the radiation signature in the otolith, the
age of the fish can be determined."
Lake Simcoe
Environmental Management Strategy (LSEMS) Update
By
Brian Kemp,
Lake
Simcoe Region Conservation Authority
Phase I of the Lake
Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy (LSEMS) Implementation
Program was formally launched in 1990 as a partnership between the
provincial government, represented by the Ministries of Agriculture
and Food, Environment and Natural Resources, and the Lake Simcoe
Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) as the lead agency of this
program. Phase II of the LSEMS Implementation Program, commencing in
1996, was expanded to include the Regions of York and
Durham and the County of Simcoe. For Phase III,
which commenced in 2001, the partnership was further expanded to
include the Chippewas of Georgina First Nation, the federal
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the provincial Ministry of
Municipal Affairs and the municipalities of Bradford West
Gwillimbury, Innisfil, Barrie, Oro-Medonte, Orillia, Ramara, New
Tecumseth and Kawartha Lakes.
2003 marks the second
full year for the Phase III project. The activities undertaken
range from information collection (eg. monitoring), analysis and
decision making (eg. studies) to implementation projects (ie.
creating tools such as models for stormwater management strategies,
undertaking capital projects and building public awareness and
understanding.
The goal of the Lake
Simcoe Environmental Management Strategy is to improve and protect
the health of the Lake Simcoe
watershed ecosystem and improve associated recreational
opportunities by:
·
Restoring a
self-sustaining cold-water fishery;
·
Improving water quality;
·
Reducing phosphorus loads
to Lake Simcoe; and
·
Protecting natural heritage
features and functions.
In
2003 LSEMS partners have achieved the following:
·
Developed a Total Water
Quality Program - data collection has been a priority in 2003 in
order to assemble information on population projections, planned
developments and servicing from municipalities. The Ministry of the
Environment and LSRCA will analyze this data, develop the terms of
reference and initiate a municipal pilot project.
·
Delivered a Communication
Strategy - the main objective of this strategy is to provide better
messaging to target audiences, ensure heightened public awareness
and understanding and increase support to ensure community action.
Highlights in 2003 include the 1st Annual Lake Simcoe
Environmental Festival, publication of 3 LSEMS Progress Reports, an
Action Guide and Consumers Guide and a new LSEMS display was
developed for the Toronto Sportsmen's Show.
·
Environmental Assessment
for the Holland Marsh Water Quality Improvement Project - the
environmental assessment process has commenced with funding from
York Region and the town of Bradford West Gwillimbury. Several
public sessions and notices are planned to assist in the development
of options, analysis and conclusions.
·
Rural Water Quality
Healthy Futures for Ontario Agriculture/Lake Simcoe Water Quality
Improvement Program - in 2003 there were 126 projects approved with
a total value of approximately $1.6 million. These projects are
designed to address nutrient pollution and are completed in
partnership with the landowner.
·
Watershed Health
Monitoring - water quality/quantity, atmospheric loading and fish
community monitoring was continued in 2003 by the Ministries of
Natural Resource and Environment and the Conservation Authority.
·
Completed the "State of the Lake
Simcoe Watershed Report" and commenced the "Lake Simcoe Watershed
Plan" - the State of the Watershed Report was completed in October
2003 and will be distributed in final form in December 2003. A
scoping exercise commenced in October, 2003 to gather information
and opinions from the public, interest groups, various agencies and
LSEMS partners. The Terms of Reference for the Lake Simcoe
Watershed Management Plan are to be drafted in January of 2004.
·
Launched the Web Based
Communications Pilot Project - the LSEMS website (www.lsems.info)
was launched in May 2003. The site provides information on
scientific information such as; water mass balance estimates,
distributed runoff models, information on surface water
quality/quantity (historic, real-time and predictive data), and
general public information on projects and programs.
·
Continued the Development
of Urban Stormwater Management Strategies - Stormwater management
strategies have been developed for Schomberg, Barrie and Bradford in
2003, and a study for Orillia is underway. Five municipalities have
environmental assessments underway for stormwater facilities and one
municipality is proposing to commence a project in 2004.
For a full version of the
LSEMS III Year End Progress Report for 2003 please contact Jane
Sirois at 905 713-7344 or Brian Kemp at 905 895-1281.
Last
Cast:
-
Now
that this "catch-up"' edition of the
Fishing Lake Simcoe
Newsletter has been completed, we look forward to receiving your
comments, suggestions and Letter to the Editor contributions.
Since it has been over a year that this newsletter has been mailed
out, we encourage all subscribers and anyone else interested in
receiving this newsletter, to please update their mailing address,
including their email address. We are seriously considering an
electronic-only version of this newsletter sometime in 2004.
Contact:
Wil Wegman, Information
Assistant
Ministry of Natural
Resources, Aurora District
wil.wegman@mnr.gov.on.ca
or 905-713-7730
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